RWBY: A Wandering Shell
by No404Pls
Summary: t1s @ st0rY ab0uT an 0C. plsss d0n't r33d
1. From Darkness to Light

In an endless sea of darkness, a lone floating sphere covered by a white flame wandered aimlessly through the absence of light. It did not speak, but a soft hum emanated from the glowing orb, almost as if it were singing some unnamed song to itself. The orb moved without purpose or a sense of direction. Sometimes, it would keep going straight while at other times, it may turn in another direction or even go backwards.

But something peculiar happened; the orb bumped into something. In an instance, the sphere's flame grew bright, illuminating itself and whatever the sphere had hit. A humanoid figure, bathed in shadow, lay on the ground in a fetal position. Lodging in its back was a sword, its handle and blade oozing a dark mist. The blade seemed to hiss whenever the orb got too close to it, like it was alive.

Nevertheless, the orb continued to circle the still body. That's when it finally made its move and pressed itself into the body, melding into the darkness. Within seconds, the shadow surrounding the body began to crawl off it, making what was underneath more visible. Metal covered the entire body; a full suit of armor complete with a helmet on top that covered the head entirely aside from its visor. The sword shook violently as it began to pull itself out until it plopped out of the ground, resting on the invisible ground beneath them.

The body began to heave up and down with breathing. Its fingers soon started to twitch until it was finally able to give way to strength; the ability to push itself up with its hands. The movements were slow, but steady until it finally stood up on its own two feet. The armored being looked around before finding its sight on the sword. It picked up the blade, which no longer retained the ominous mist dripping from the blade and handle. Sheathing the weapon into the sheath strapped to their waist, the person in the suit of armor began to walk.

The darkness surrounding the being began to shift and change with the light surrounding the person, illuminating their path. Slowly, the shadows surrounding them began to take shape of objects and the abyss below them they were walking on became less and less visible.

Until the being found they were no longer surrounded by endless darkness. Instead, they were surrounded by trees. Lifeless and covered by snow, but still trees. The armored knight looked up, gazing at the illumination in the sky that was the moon. For the longest time, it remained still, staring at what was so far away, yet shined brightest in the night.

The person raised a hand up, extending their hand towards the sky to reach out for the moon, attempting to grasp it with their hand. Only when they pulled their hand back did they find that it was not in their hand. So they pressed onwards, trudging through the thick snow beneath them. It was a quiet walk, save for the sound of their armor making noise as the person moved through the snow and the wind blowing.

Suddenly, the peaceful ambience was cut short by the sounds of gunfire and roars. For a moment, the armored being stopped to listen and look around. Finding the direction the noise came from the loudest, they pressed forward to the sounds of noises.

The knight found themselves in a large clearing away from all the lifeless trees. Instead, they saw in the distance, a blob of red moving around in the snow. They made their way to the object of interest until they could see what it exactly was. A little girl was picking up strangle objects of the ground and stuffing them into a thin rectangular red box. The color theme of their clothing was nothing but red and black. It was then when the girl turned around and noticed their presence that she stepped back out of surprise.

"O-oh, hello there! I wasn't expecting anyone out here." The girl spoke before looking up and down at them. "Wow, that's something you don't see everyday. A full suit of armor!"

The armored being only continued to stare at the girl, who looked a little uneasy being stared at in complete silence. They looked at the ground where the small objects were. Kneeling down, they began to pick up the strange objects off the ground, piling them into one hand. The girl only stared in wonder at the person picking her empty shells up. When they had enough of a pile in their hands, they walked over to her and held the shells to her.

"Ah, thank you." The girl nodded her head as she started stuffing the empty shells away into her emptied magazines. "I'm Ruby. What's your name?"

Ruby didn't get an answer from the knight, who continued to move around and pick up her empty shells for her. Not that she wasn't grateful for the person's help, but the fact that they did not speak at all unnerved her a bit. Sure, she could be a bit socially awkward at this time, but at least she knew how to respond to people...somewhat. Still, if this person was helping her pick up her ammo, they couldn't be a bad person. Perhaps they were just as, if not more, socially awkward as she was?

The pair continued to pick up Ruby's scattered shells until they could not see any more. It was then they found themselves staring at each other again.

"Well...er...Thanks for your help." Ruby said, but the silent knight still did not respond. "I'll be going back home now. Goodbye!"

With that, Ruby jogged away, but not without looking back to see the knight still watching her go from where they stood. It wasn't until Ruby was a good distance away that she saw the knight begin to walk off in another direction, disappearing into the woods.

 _...Strong, silent type, huh?_ Ruby muttered to herself. _Weird...I didn't feel an aura from them. If they've been out here by themselves, they must be pretty capable of holding their own against the Grimm._

Hands on her hip, Ruby nodded to herself affirmatively. She came to conclusion that the silent knight would be just fine wherever they went. Even if they were armed with just a simple sword.

 _I wonder if we'll meet again someday?_


	2. Encountering of a Village

The wandering knight walked for several days and nights without rest, not since that one night where they had met a little girl in black and red. If there was some sort of danger in the areas they had traversed through, they had not encountered it. However, they did run across the bodies of those who were not so lucky as they have been so far. The knight scavenged the bodies, making use of the items the corpses no longer needed.

In combination with their sword, they now sported a heater shield on their arm. The knight also possessed a belt pouch that contained glowing crystals. The silent suit of armor had yet to figure out the purpose of the crystals. They tried planting it in the snow, tossing a few of the jewels at trees, and even stomping on them, but all attempts to figure out what they did came up fruitless. So they left the crystals in the pouch for further investigation later.

With a new inventory and equipment, the knight continued on their neverending trek. But what was going to be another long walk abruptly came to a halt when they found a road. Unlike the snow they had been trudging through, there was not a speck of snow to be found on the dirt road.

The knight picked one direction and walked down its trail. The path eventually led to the sight of a settlement. They had walls surrounding the building with towers at certain points and people walking on the wall armed with weapons. However, the people looked different from the girl in red they had met. Some of them had tails behind them or ears on the top of their head; a few even had fur on their exposed flesh.

The armored suit began their approach towards the gate, which had two guards standing behind its metal bars. When the guards took notice of them approaching, the pair quickly raised up their weapons, but they did not point it at the knight.

"Who goes there? What business do you have here?" One asked, looking up and down at the suited person. They made a sniffing noise before furrowing their brows. "You don't carry the scent of a Faunus, so that means you're human."

"Your kind are scum. Get out of here before we resort to violence like you've done to so many of our brothers and sisters!"

The silent warrior stared as they started to raise up their weapons, but the sound of screaming beyond the gate made the two turn around. The roars and snarls of beasts could be heard in the distance along with flares of colors and gunfire. The knight is vaguely reminded of these noises prior to meeting the red-haired girl.

"The Grimm are attacking again!?"

"Damn, it's too soon! We haven't had time to recover from their last attack!"

Their attention lost on the warrior, the guards quickly ran off to the sounds of fighting and screams of terror. The knight stayed where they were, continuing to watch from the outside of the gate. The noise inside didn't seem to be subsiding at all, but there were less screams than when it started.

"Please! Somebody help me!"

A man in the distance could now be seen coming towards them, holding their side where red substance dripped out of: blood. But the man wasn't alone, running behind him was a creature shrouded in black with the only color on them being their sharp teeth and eyes which were both red. When the man turned around, the creature leaped onto the man and attempted to bite him, but the man evaded the attack and kicked the beast off of him all while crawling back until his back was pressed up on the gate. Realizing the position he was in and the creature already back up on its feet, the man shielded himself as the creature leaped at him once more with the intent on finishing him off and dining on his corpse.

Instead, he heard a yelp. Lowering his arms, he looked up to see a sword inside its skull. Tracing the hand connected to the sword, the man saw an armored knight behind the gate with their arm between the gate's bars. The body of the Grimm dissolved into smoke as the man breathed a sigh of relief. The knight pulled back their arm between the gate's bars, holstering the blade.

"T-thank you, stranger." The man got back up on his feet, clutching his wound. "I never would have expected kindness out of people from outside our walls...much less a human."

The knight remained silent before turning around and walking away.

"Please wait!"

Stopping in their place, the warrior turned around to see the gate pushed open by the injured man.

"You've already done me a kindness, that's more than enough from a human...but can I ask for your help once again?" The man asked, leaning against the wall for support. "I know we're Faunus, but the fact that you saved me proves you're different from other humans. Could you prove me right once again by helping us defeat the Grimm?"

The man waited in silence for an answer, but the knight never answered back. Hope nearly started to sink in the man's eye until the warrior drew their blade once again and walked through the gates. But after passing through the entrance the knight started jogging into the center of town. Along the way, there were several fights between the 'Faunus' and the 'Grimm' with neither side paying attention to them.

It wasn't until they reached the plaza that they came across several dead bodies of 'Faunus' that they found a 'Grimm' that set itself apart from the other monsters. It was larger, with bone-like materials and spikes on its body. Unlike the other creatures the 'Faunus' were fighting, this 'Grimm' had burning yellow eyes. The Grimm was staring down female 'Faunus', whose legs and arms were shaking, barely holding their spear upright.

When the Grimm roared, it terrified the 'Faunus' woman as she was struck by its claws. The knight charged forward as the woman fell, raising their shield up to block the incoming attack. They bashed their shield at its face, stunning it temporarily and sliced upward, pushing it back. The 'Faunus' woman got back up on her feet and moved to stand alongside the knight.

"A-allow me to help you, Human." The woman spoke. "This is the Alpha Beowolf. If we kill the leader of this pack, the other Beowolves will be much weaker without its presence."

The Alpha Beowolf roared as a small pack of lesser Beowolves entered the area.

"I'll keep the normal ones off your back. You take out the leader!"

With that said, the nameless knight and Faunus woman charged forward.


	3. The Grimm

The knight charged forward and the first Beowolf to get in their way was promptly knocked to the side with the shield. Reaching the Alpha Beowolf again, the knight swung at the beast, but the large creature jumped back to avoid their attack. The Grimm leader countered by ramming into the fighter, sending the armored being flying back. Getting back up on their feet, they looked up to see several lesser Beowolves ready to swipe at them simultaneously.

But before contact could be made, the Faunus fighter moved in front of them and deflected their attacks. The woman then spun around, prompting the knight to duck as her attack hit and knocked back all the surrounding Beowolves. The armored warrior used this chance to burst past the minions, leaping at the Alpha Beowolf, striking the Grimm right on the head.

However, it had very little effect, which resulted in the pack leader grabbing the knight and slamming them down into the ground. It raised its claw up and tried to drive its nails through the knight's chest, but the knight raised their shield up just in time to parry the fatal attack. The knight stabbed into Alpha's arm, causing the Grimm to stagger back, clutching the wound which started to leak black fluid.

The knight moved to attack again while it was distracted, but a cry of pain caused the knight to look to the sound instead. The Faunus woman was fighting off the pack like she had intended, but alone and outnumbered, it was clear who the victor was going to be. Nevertheless, she kept fighting despite her injuries. The knight looked back and forth between the injured Alpha Beowolf and the crowd of lesser Beowolves assaulting the lone Faunus woman.

There was a decision to be made here: Aid the Faunus woman or finish off the leader. Dawdling would only result in both the Faunus woman being killed and the Grimm leader escaping.

With a choice made, the knight turned around and ran toward the Faunus woman, driving their sword into the back of an inattentive Beowolf. Running past the Faunus woman, they blocked a blow that had been meant for the Faunus woman that could have potentially killed her. The Faunus woman stared briefly at the knight before fending off the attacking Grimm in front of her.

The two worked together in sync, attacking and defending another in turn. The Beowolves kept coming, but the Beowolves' strikes weren't as strong anymore. The knight looked to where the Alpha Beowolf had been previously to find that it was no longer there.

Finishing off the last Beowolves, the Faunus and knight stood back-to-back with each other, weapons at the ready and scanning the area. When they no longer saw anymore Grimm in sight, the Faunus woman released a sigh of relief as the cheers of other Faunus in the distance bellowed out. The knight holstered their sword and turned around to face the Faunus woman.

"Thank you for your help." The woman gave a small smile as she winced when she touched a cut had a small amount of blood pouring out of it. "I don't think I was going to live through that if you hadn't helped me out there. Still...That Alpha Beowolf got away."

The knight and Faunus turned to the sound of multiple footsteps to see a group of other Faunus fighters entering the plaza. They attended to the corpses on the ground

"Sylver, are you okay?" A group of Faunus guards approached the knight and woman.

"I'm not dead, but I sure could use some medical attention."

"Let's get you to the infirmary."

'Sylver', the Faunus woman the knight had been fighting alongside, was quickly helped away by two other guards. The knight watched them take Sylver away before he heard a cough, which made them turn to the sound. A male Faunus standing in front of them offered his hand.

"My name is Beig. I'm the captain of the guard here in Umen Village."

Taking the hand of 'Beig', the man shook the knight's hand firmly before releasing their hand.

"On behalf of our people, I thank you for helping us defend our town." Beig spoke with sincere appreciation in his voice and a smile of gratitude on his face. "Most of our people still hold resentment for the Humans, even with the Faunus War over since we're still being discriminated by your people. But I believe humanity is slowly changing and you're one of them."

Beig turned around and motioned for the knight to walk with him.

"You're welcome to stay in the village. I'll let the remaining guards know you're approved." Beig spoke as they walked together. "If you're feeling up to helping us with our Grimm problem, come find me tomorrow. I must attend to our fallen brethren and sisters."

With that said, Beig parted ways with the knight left to their own devices once more. The knight looked around, staring at everything that had been damaged or destroyed by the Grimm. They walked over to what looked to be a snuffed out campfire. The knight held our their hands and touched the wood. For a brief moment, a red glow covered their hand.

The knight reeled back their hand as fire quickly spread among the pieces of firewood. They looked at their hand, tilting their head as they watched the glow surrounding their hand disappear. Turning back to the newly lit campfire, they sat down in front of the flames and gazed into the fire.

A soft green glow enveloped the knight's body. Slowly but surely, the dents and batters done to their armor started even itself out as if they had never been damaged in the first place. The armor started to become more clearer as the engravings written on the front of their chest became visible.

It was a name: Kosta.


	4. Pushing the Darkness Back

Days have passed since Kosta first stepped in Umen Village. Kosta aided the Faunus in repairing the town and aiding them in any way possible whether it was collecting fireword or fixing broken roofings. Although Kosta never spoke or introduced themselves properly, the name on Kosta's chestplate was all they had to run by, so they called the knight Kosta. But the question still remained on whether or not Kosta was male or female due to the fact that Kosta...never really speaks.

The Faunus deduced that it wasn't shyness. Kosta was very capable of approaching people and following whatever was requested of them. The thickness and bulkiness of the armor did not help give off a feminine or masculine figure and to top it all off, no one could see into Kosta's helmet visor clearly enough to see their face.

Umen Villagers deemed Kosta a human shrouded in mystery. Some even deduced that Kosta was not human at all, but if not a Faunus or Human, then what was Kosta?

Kosta never really ate, slept, or even needed a shower. All they could tell is that whenever Kosta rests by a campfire, they are surrounded by a green glow and whatever stench is on Kosta at the time simply disappears. That was what Kosta was doing right now after a long day assisting the construction workers in rebuilding the central hall building.

Beig, Sylver, and a few other Faunus were talking to each other as they looked at the resting Kosta near the same campfire they always rested at. They were a good distance away from the knight, so Kosta would not be able to overhear them.

"Sir, what should we do?" One tiger Faunus asked. "The Grimm haven't attacked us since the day Kosta arrived. This is making me nervous...The last time the Beowolf Alpha waited this long, it brought a damn Deathstalker. If it weren't for that group of Huntsmen that happened to pass by on their Bullhead, our village would have been destroyed then and there."

"Kosta is already doing enough as it is helping us nonstop when our people need to rest from the repairs." Another Faunus argued in response.

"We shouldn't waste a warrior's kindness in helping us rebuild." Sylver nodded her head in agreement. "For a normal human without any Huntsmen training behind them, Kosta was able to stand up against an Alpha Beowolf on their own, even without an Aura that I seriously needed when I was being attacked by multiple Beowolves. If I hadn't been so weak, Kosta might have been able to finish it off..."

Sylver frowned as she crossed her arms, remembering her fight. She was glad to still have her life, but until that Alpha Beowolf was taken down, the lives that were lost that day were for nothing and will continue to be in vain so long as that Grimm leader continues to live and grow stronger from every battle. A hand placed itself on her shoulder and she turned to see it was Beig's.

"At ease, my friends." Beig spoke and everyone's stir was silenced at his voice. "I understand your concerns. I wish I had time to talk to Kosta sooner, but I was also busy attending to the burials of the dead and helping the medical staff with the wounded. I shall go speak with Kosta and ask them for their assistance once more. Kosta has been nothing but kind and selfless in their deeds for a small village such as ours. I'm confident they'll help us once again. So please, everyone, get some rest for tomorrow."

The other Faunus murmurred with all of them sounding their agreement before dispersing. Everyone except for Sylver, who continued to remain beside Beig's side.

"Sylver, shouldn't you go get some rest?" Beig raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Your family is concerned about your health just as much as the doctors. Go get some sleep."

"I want to be with you when you talk to Kosta." Sylver responded, shaking her head. "If we're sending Kosta off to fight that Alpha Beowolf, then I want to be there fighting alongside them."

"Heh...Who said I was sending Kosta alone?" Beig chuckled. "If Kosta accepts, then I will aid them as well. We can't afford to send anyone else but just the three of us. We need people here defending these walls while we're away."

The two Faunus nodded at each other before walking to the resting knight.

"Hello, Kosta."

Kosta looked up at the two of them as they gave Kosta a small wave of greeting. The two didn't waste time sitting down by the warmth of the fire.

"Kosta, I want you to know that I appreciate everything you've done for us up until now." Beig started off. "You've done more for us than any human has ever done in the few years we have settled down and created this village."

"I know this is going to sound selfish, but we need your help dealing with that Alpha Beowolf. That one in particular has been leading packs of Grimm against us relentlessly." Sylver spoke. "I'm aware you had a chance to take it down, but you chose saving me over killing the leader. Which is why I've been scouting for its trail and I've found its den, gathering negative energy to draw more Grimm from even further distances to attack us."

"Sylver and I would be grateful if you would lend us your strength once more in helping us defeat the Alpha Beowolf. We'll be going on the offensive tomorrow." Beig concluded. "...What is your answer?"

Silence reigned in between the three with only the crackle from the campfire filling in as ambience. Beig and Sylver looked at Kosta with anticipation for an answer. Kosta continued to gaze into the fire, ignoring them at the moment. It was then Kosta looked back up at them and the two sighed in relief as Kosta nodded his head.

"We are in your debt once more, Kosta." Beig smiled at the knight. "Your kindness and bravery matches that of any Huntsmen and Huntress."

"Well...I think it's about time, Beig." Sylver looked at Beig. "Kosta has been here for a few days, but has yet to meet our Chieftan."

"Ah, that is true." Beig nodded his head before turning to Kosta. "Kosta, I believe you have yet to meet the leader of our village. Chieftan Greii is our founder of this village and blacksmith responsible for all our weapons. If you'd like, we can go meet him right now."

Kosta stood up on their feet which prompted Sylver and Beig to do the same. The trio started to walk together with Beig leading at the front.

"Chief Greii is very passionate about making weapons." Sylver grinned as she patted her own spear holstered behind her. "Maybe he might even make you a new weapon, yeah?"

The knight looked at Sylver before looking at their own weapons. Kosta shrugged their arms.

"Of course, you could just ask him to upgrade your sword and shield. Nothing wrong with the classics, after all."


	5. Preparations for the Hunt

Beig, Sylver, and Kosta entered a building that overwhelmed the senses with heat and smoke. A tall, muscular Faunus was pounding a piece of steel on an anvil with a hammer at a consistent pace. Unlike Beig and Sylver, the man's age showed on his face with wrinkles on his face and the lack of hair on the top of his head. The hulking man stopped hitting the blade in favor of noticing the three visitors.

"Chief Greii." Beig and Sylver spoke simultaneously as they saluted the man.

"What brings you two here this late into the night? Hm?" Greii's eyes sets themselves on Kosta. "Well, I'll be. So you're the human everyone has been talking about."

Kosta stepped forward to approach the large man and held out their hand to Greii. The old man smiled in amusement before shaking the knight's hand firmly. Sylver stepped up next, taking off the spear strung behind her and placed it on the table.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Greii tilted their head at the silent knight. "That's fine...Your actions speak louder than your words. At any rate, back to my previous question; what brings you all here?"

"My spear could use some sharpening up." Sylver grabbed a whetstone off a shelf. "Also, we just wanted to inform you that Kosta has agreed to hunt down the Alpha Beowolf that has been terrorizing us for a while."

"Ah, I see. That will certainly help make our lives easier without a persistent leader of the Grimm attacking us." Greii nodded their head before looking down at Kosta's sword and shield. "You look like you could use an upgrade, Kosta. Those weapons of yours can hurt, but proper maintenace and sharpness is the key to having a deadly weapon that can actually kill something as tough as an Alpha Beowolf."

The knight took off the sheath at their waist and shield on their arm, setting the weapons down on a table. Greii took a moment to look the weapons over, holding the sword in their hand and giving it a small twirl.

"Light...it could use some heavier material..." Greii muttered to himself before turning to the shield. "Just thick enough in its frame to give me an idea..."

Sylver began to sharpen the steel on her spear while Beig sat himself down on a stool. Kosta joined Beig by grabbing a seat of their own and sat down right beside him. Beig looked over at Kosta and noticed the pouches on their person.

"Kosta, not to pry on the privacy of your items, but what do you have in those pouches?" Beig asked.

The knight reached into the pockets on their waist and held out the crystals to Beig. Sylver, who had been busy focusing on her weapon, found her eyes drawing to them. Eyes widening, Sylver dropped her weapons and quickly ran over to get a closer look at them.

"Oh my god, Dust Crystals!" Sylver's green eyes almost seemed to sparkle with excitement. "Chief Greii! Kosta has Dust Crystals!"

Greii perked his head up immediately and quickly walked over to see the Dust Crystals in Kosta's hands. Greii's eyes gleamed with the same excitement that Sylver held in her eyes.

"I must say those are exquisite Dust Crystals you have there, Kosta." Greii spoke with eagerness. "The ones you have are the kind that can be imbued permanently into a weapon, giving them an elemental boost in power. If you would allow me to have them, I will be able to upgrade your weapons along with Sylver's weapons to give you an edge in your upcoming battle."

Kosta stared at the crystal in their hands before pulling off the belt pouch on their person and handing it to the tall man. Greii nodded his head, a smile of gratitude on his face before returning his attention back to Kosta's weapons.

"Well, I'll be resting up for our hunt tomorrow." Beig said, standing up and heading off. "Sylver, Kosta, I'll see you both in the morning."

Sylver waved goodbye to Beig as he walked out of the building. She started to yawn before turning to Kosta and smiled.

"I think Beig has the right idea. I'd love to stay and see my weapon infused with the elements of Dust Crystal, but I need sleep too." Sylver spoke and smiled at Kosta. "Thank you for upgrading my spear, Kosta. I'll prove my worth to you on the battlefield. Good night, Kosta. I'll see you in the morning."

With that, Kosta and Greii were the only ones left in the room. For hours, Kosta observed and watched as Greii began to shape Kosta's weapons into something else. The blade of Kosta's sword was replaced with a thicker layer of steel and a trigger was added onto the handle.. As for the shield, a hole was created from the top of the shield, enough to fit the new sword into. But what was different about the shield now were the symbols added at the front of the shield through Greii pounding the crystals on top of the shield with a hammer.

"And it is done..." Greii wiped the sweat off his face and handed the reforged weapons to Kosta. "Here you are, Kosta. Your new and improved sword and shield, but with a twist thanks to your Dust Crystals. I'd explain it, but I think it would be better if I showed you through demonstration. Come, let's go outside."

The two exited the building and faced each other.

"Now, ready yourself." Greii held up his own hammer, poised to strike. "Block this attack!"

Kosta nodded their head and Greii rushed at them, hitting the shield hard enough that Kosta stumbled a few steps back. In response to being hit, Kosta's shield started to glow a faint yellow.

"I'm aware that you do not have an aura, so what I did was combine your Dust Crystals and reversed their properties to be channeled into something completely different: Kinetic absorption." Greii explained, stepping back. "Your shield is able to absorb energy from your opponent's strikes against you. Brace yourself again!"

Prepared for the hit, Kosta withstood the attack from Greii again as the shield regained its color again.

"But it can only hold the energy for a short time before it disperses, so use it accordingly to your situation." Greii said. "Now, while it's still charged inside your shield, insert your sword into the shield's slot and pull the trigger."

Kosta did as they were told and pulled on the trigger attached to the handle. A surge of energy flashed from inside the shield's hole and Kosta drew their sword out to find the blade bathed in yellow light.

"Now your sword is holding onto that energy via the trigger." Greii then proceeded to place his hands in front of his chest in the form of an 'X'. "I'll leave it up to your imagination to figure out what to do next. Don't worry about me, I can take the hit."

The knight made a slashing motion forward while pulling the trigger. A crescent wave of light shot out and hit Greii head on. Kosta repeated the same move again two more times before the energy covering the sword disappeared. Looking to Greii, Kosta saw the man walking up to them with no injuries on his person.

"How you utilize your new ability is up to you to figure out, Kosta." Greii patted Kosta on the shoulder. "I must return back to my shop and focus on Sylver's weapon. Hers will not take as long as yours did, but considering I used up most of your crystals to make your weapon what it is right now, I'll at least put an element in her weapon since she has an aura. I wish you a successful hunt, friend."

Greii waved goodbye before entering his building, leaving Kosta all alone. Kosta holstered the sword inside the shield's slot and made their way back to the campfire where they sat down.

Daylight was almost approaching.


	6. To Battle!

At the main gate of Umen Village, three battle-ready souls exited the settlement. The guards at the entrance wished them luck on their hunt and safe return. Sylver walked ahead of the two, being the guide to the Alpha Beowolf's location. She had her new and improved spear in her hand, resting the shaft on her shoulder. Wind circled around the pointed head, showing the weapons new elemental attribute thanks to the Dust Crystal contribution from Kosta and forgery by Greii. As for Beig, he carried a claymore sheathed on his back which seemed to stand out from its simplicity compared to Kosta and Sylver's weaponry.

"Sylver, where exactly is the Alpha Beowolf residing?" Beig asked as they started walking off the road and into the forest. "You said you found its den, but never told us anything more specific than that."

"Yeah, the beast is on a hilltop overlooking a large lake. You know, the one with all the inactive geysers?" Sylver responded with a shake of her head. "When I found it, I didn't see any other Grimm aside from its own kind."

"Well, let's hope it stays that way when we get there." Beig sighed, not wanting to think about the prospect of facing other types of Grimm. "Regular Beowolves I can handle. Oum forbid we have to fight more than just one kind."

Kosta continued to walk alongside their Faunus companions, occasionally glancing at their own new and improved weapons. Sylver's eyes wandered over to Kosta who had just been in the middle of looking at their sword and shield.

"I gotta say, Kosta, Chief Greii did wonders for your weapon." Sylver grinned, admiring Kosta's weapons. "The fact he was able to convert the elements of the Dust Crystal into something you can use without Aura speaks volume of his skills as a blacksmith."

"I'm interested in seeing your weapons in action too." Beig spoke, looking at Kosta's sword and shield. "I have to say, the only thing that could make your weapon better would be if your shield could turn into a collapsible sheath."

"That would be pretty neat and handy, but I think it would still weigh the same if it were like that, no?" Sylver questioned.

"Yeah it would, but it would be better than just lugging around the shield on your arm all day, right?" Beig shrugged his arms and chuckled.

"...You're not wrong." Sylver agreed, nodding her head.

Although Kosta did not say a word, the two continued to ask Kosta questions that could be answered with a nod or shake of their head. However, the conversations would soon die out as Sylver quickly warned them that they were approaching Grimm territory and the light mood they had came to an end. Replaced with focus and determination, the three went from walking to slight jogging with weapons drawn all while keeping their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.

"And here we are..." Sylver said as she took cover behind a tree while Kosta and Beig did the same.

The large clearing before them were crawling with Grimm.

"Ah, shit..." Beig cursed quietly as an Ursa minor came into view. "Looks like I just ate my own words. There are Ursa minors around. Sylver, can you see any other kind of Grimm around?"

"I see a few Boarbatusks." Sylver said, spotting the dark boar-like creatures moving around. "Damn...It's really going all out calling the reinforcements."

"Well, let's hurry and take out the Alpha Beowolf before it starts calling the bigger kind." Beig gripped his claymore tightly. "Let's try to avoid getting detected for as long as possible. Remember that out target is the Alpha Beowolf. As long as that leader is around, it's just going to keep calling for more Grimm to this location. If this force of Grimm attacks our village, we don't stand a chance to repel the assault and protect those who can't fight."

"Okay then, I see gaps between certain packs. There's also some reasonable cover in this clearing that we can use to hide ourselves in. On my signal, follow me closely and don't lag behind." Sylver said, hiding behind her tree completely as a Beowolf walked by that stopped to look around as if sensing them. But it didn't bother investigating further and continued along its way. "Hold it...ready...set...and go! Move!"

Sylver ran out into the open with her two companions quickly following behind her. When Sylver dropped onto the ground behind some terrain, the two did the same, though Kosta had a bit of difficulty considering they wore armor unlike their Faunus companions. A Boarbatusk had come dangerously close to stepping on Kosta, which caused Sylver and Beig to tighten their grip on their weapons. But they held their fear and emotion in for the sake of not being detected by Grimm. Once the boar eventually moved away, Sylver quickly got back up and continued to move again with Kosta and Beig in two. They repeated this process several times until the reached the slope leading up to the hilltop.

"All right, we're almost there, now we just have to-"

Before Beig could finish that statement, a sudden growl from behind them quickly drew the three's attention. They turned to see an Ursa staring at them, baring its teeth for the three to see. Kosta quickly drew their blade and ran up the Ursa, delivering a quick thrust throug its chin, a swift and fatal kill. But the thud that quickly followed afterward caused all the other Grimm to turn in their direction.

"Damn it, there goes the stealth!" Sylver's frustration and fear showed in her voice. "There's no way we can take on the Alpha Beowolf with all these Grimms!"

Kosta turned back to Beig and Sylver. They pointed their sword to the hilltop behind them before raising their shield and turning around to face the advancing horde.

"Wait...You're not seriously trying to take on all these Grimm by yourself, are you?" Beig asked.

As if answering them, Kosta quickly ran forward, meeting the masses of beast head on. But Kosta didn't stop moving, cutting and bash through the crowd of shadow beasts. But although Kosta injured the few Grimm they hit, it was then that Beig and Sylver realized what Kosta was doing. Kosta wasn't taking the time to finish off each Grimm they hit.

"Kosta isn't trying to fight them all on...They're pulling their attention away from us." Sylver shook her head as Kosta ran into the woods with the Grimm hot on their trail. "That knight...What a crazy person."

"Come on, we have to go take out the Alpha Beowolf and help Kosta." Beig spoke urgently, heading up the slope. "Kosta won't be able to run forever from them. They'll eventually surround and overwhelm Kosta...We need to take that Alpha Beowolf down before that happens."

"Right." Sylver nodded before following after Beig. But not without looking back at the woods Kosta ran into. "...Try to hold out until we get there, Kosta."

The two Faunus made their way to the top where they found the Alpha Beowolf. The large Grimm had its eyes closed and the moving shadows surrounding its body dispersed. It opened its eyes, glaring especially at Sylver who had her spear pointed at it.

"Hey there, remember me?" Sylver twirled her spear before dropping into a battle stance. "I hope so. Because the last thing your ugly mug will ever see is jamming my spear straight into your head!"

The Alpha Beowolf growled before unleashing a howl. A few seconds passed before the Alpha Beowolf realized no help would be coming.

"Sorry, but none of your buddies will be saving you from my wrath!"

Sylver grinned before charging at the Grimm leader with Beig right behind her.

"For Umen Village!"


End file.
